An employee is seriously injured as a result of his own serious willful misconduct. The compensation is reduced by 50% unless which of the following exceptions applies?

• A. Death
• B. PD of 60%
• C. Under 16 at DOI
• D. Employee is over 65

Answer: (D)

When benefits are provided for an injury caused by the employee’s own serious willful misconduct, there is a general penalty that reduces wage replacement by 50%. However, there are carve-outs where this reduction does not apply. In this case, the exception is that the employee is over 65 years old at the date of injury. The law includes this age-based carve-out to avoid punishing workers near retirement too harshly, recognizing their limited earnings potential and the impact on their ability to support themselves after retirement age.

So, even though the injury stemmed from willful misconduct, being 65 or older means the 50% reduction doesn’t apply, and benefits are not slashed by half. (The other listed scenarios describe different circumstances that alter benefits in their own ways, but the key point here is the age-related exception.)